12 Dead in England Shooting Rampage

LONDON, June 2, 2010— -- At least 12 people have been killed and 25 injured by a gunman who went on a rampage in Northern England before killing himself.

The suspect, identified as local taxi driver Derrick Bird, apparently drove through several small towns, shooting as he went. Police are investigating 30 different crime scenes and carefully are tracing the suspect's route, concerned that they could find more bodies.

The first shooting occurred at 9:35 a.m. GMT, when Bird opened fire on Duke Street in the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven. Among the victims was a young woman.

"She died in our arms, we tried to shake her and said, 'Come on, come on, the ambulance is coming,' but she wasn't conscious," eyewitness Barry Cross told the BBC News.

"They were serious gunshot wounds," Cross said. "It looked like he must've seen her and pulled over, walked out with his sniper and shot her point blank in the back of her head."

Before running to help her, Cross had seen Bird.

"He had this absolutely huge, like, sniper rifle," Cross said. "It was almost touching the floor, massive scope and everything."

Terrified eyewitnesses described seeing 52-year-old Bird driving through Whitehaven with a gun pointed out of his car window, firing indiscriminately.

Every armed police unit from the area was called in for the manhunt and extra support was brought in from surrounding areas. Helicopters and search dogs sought Bird.

"The search has now extended to the Ambleside, Coniston and central lakes areas, so police are urging all members of the public in these areas and across the West Lakes area from Whitehaven to Ravenglass to go indoors and stay there until further notice," Cumbrian police said.

The area of the shootings in northern England, known as the Lake District, is very popular with tourists. After police warnings, hotel and pub owners rounded up guests and walkers nearby, keeping them away from the windows.

Bodies Strewn Along Roadside

Bird headed for the villages of Egremont and Seascale, where eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies by the side of the road and on a bridge.

"At present there are two people dead and one seriously injured in Seascale." Dr Barrie Walker, who was called to the scene, told the BBC.

"The second person was on a bicycle and was shot on the bike. The person who is seriously injured was in his car, driving along. It looks as though he was shot through the window."

Bodies were seen strewn along the side of the road in Egremont.

Bird also reportedly wound down his window and shot a farmer point blank as he trimmed hedges with his uncle near Gosforth.

The rampage ended when Bird left his car near the village of Boot, headed into the woods and killed himself.

"The body of Derrick Bird was located in a wooded area near Boot at around 1:40 p.m. today," Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde of Cumbria Police told reporters. "At this time we believe that he took his own life. No shots were fired by police officers."

Officials are appealing for anyone who might have seen Bird in the past 24 hours to contact them. The motive for the murders is not yet clear.

"We are still at a very early stage in our investigation and we are not able to really understand the motivation behind it or establish whether this was a premeditated or random attack," Hyde said.

Colleagues and neighbors have expressed surprise at Bird's behavior.

"I have known him for 15 years," Ryan Dempsey, 26, who lived two doors away from Bird, told BBC News. "He was always pleasant, always had time to say hello. As far as I'm concerned, this is completely out of character. I had never seen him in a bad mood."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "alarmed and shocked by the events unfolding in Cumbria."

"When lives and communities are suddenly shattered in this way, our thoughts should be with all those caught up in these tragic events, especially the families and friends of those killed or injured," Cameron said.

Shooting incidents are rare in the U.K., which has stringent gun laws. The last major incident occurred in 1996 in Dunblane, where Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and a teacher at a kindergarten in 1996. In 1987, Michael Ryan killed 16 people, including his mother, in the English town of Hungerford.